Previous
Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Beloved World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Optimism, Determination, and Adversity
Family and Friendship
Education and Learning
Puerto Rican Identity and Culture
Morality, Justice, and Giving Back
Summary
Analysis
Sonia gets back to her dorm to find a friend waiting for her. The friend discovered the invitation to join Phi Beta Kappa in the trash and assures Sonia that it’s not a scam. This isn’t the first time during Sonia’s senior year that something like this happens. When she receives the call that she won the Pyne Prize, Sonia has to ask a friend what the Pyne Prize even is. She’s shocked to learn that it’s the highest award given to a graduating senior. A friend takes Sonia to Macy’s and helps her pick out a suit for the award luncheon. At the luncheon, Margarita Rosa and other Hispanic alums are there, along with Mami. Most of the other attendees are white. Sonia receives the award for her work on joining the old, white, and racist Princeton with a new, diverse Princeton through Acción Puertorriqueña.
As Sonia receives the invitation for Phi Beta Kappa and accepts the Pyne Prize, she has to confront the fact that even though both of these things are clear indicators of her success, she’s still well behind her peers. Again, this is because she doesn’t come from money and didn’t grow up breathing the intricacies of college Greek organizations and awards—but this doesn’t mean she doesn’t belong or doesn’t deserve the distinction. And as in her youth, as Sonia experiences this success, her family and friends rally around her to celebrate her and remind her of where she came from.
Themes
In her acceptance speech, Sonia says that Princeton’s minorities enabled her success—and in this sense, everyone who has worked with her also earned the award. She says that going forward, she hopes that she and Princeton can move beyond simply recognizing minorities. She imagines all the minority students who will make Princeton more diverse. Later in the year, Professor Winn calls Sonia aside to tell her she’s going to graduate summa cum laude. She has to look up what this means and feels like she’s still an outsider. Over the summer, Sonia works in a corporate Manhattan office and is very disappointed at how unproductive it is. She and Junior grow closer as he begins his journey to become a doctor.
Sonia is well aware of the fact that she’s receiving the Pyne Prize for the work that many people did together, and so it’s important to acknowledge them. With this, she demonstrates her commitment to fairness and kindness. And for her, the journey isn’t over. She may have done great things during her time at Princeton, but this doesn’t mean that the work is over. Because she’s paved the way for other minority students to continue her work, the Pyne Prize may be more within their reach in the future.
Themes
Most important that summer is Sonia and Kevin’s wedding. They decide to get married so that Kevin can follow Sonia to Yale, which they can’t do unmarried. Mami wants an extravagant wedding; Sonia wants a small, frugal affair. They argue loudly about the dress, but the dressmaker tactfully creates a simple design with embellishments that please Mami. Marguerite is the maid of honor and hosts the bridal shower. This becomes an issue, as there are different cultural expectations amongst the Polish, German, Irish, and Puerto Rican guests. They compromise by giving the traditional Puerto Rican gifts—which are risqué—while the rest of the guests are distracted.
Symbolically, making Marguerite the maid of honor is a way for Sonia to thank Marguerite and publically honor their friendship. Navigating the different cultural expectations for the bridal shower speaks to how integrated Sonia’s Puerto Rican family has become in the wider community. They’re no longer part of a purely Puerto Rican community. Especially since Sonia is marrying into an Irish family, the family’s idea of who can be classified as family has to expand.
Themes
On the day of the wedding, many women drag Sonia out of bed, put makeup on her, and get her dressed. They realize then that Sonia hasn’t eaten anything. A cousin fetches Sonia a sandwich and she gives herself her insulin. After the ceremony, the party rages for hours. Sonia and Kevin splurge on a room at a hotel overlooking Central Park and eat greasy burgers. In their room, Kevin opens the last of their gift envelopes. It contains drugs from his college friends. Sonia makes him flush them down the toilet.
At least on important days like this one, it is possible to momentarily forget Sonia’s diabetes, but the threat her diabetes poses never fully goes away. By bringing up this narrowly avoided catastrophe, Sonia makes it clear that diabetes doesn’t stop being an issue once she’s no longer a kid. This is a challenge she’ll face her whole life.
Themes
Get the entire My Beloved World LitChart as a printable PDF.
